Authorities arrest mastermind in local credit card scheme

2007-12-01T23:10:22Z

The man accused of masterminding a credit card scheme that likely affected hundreds of Mid-Southerners was behind bars Saturday.

After months of surveillance and research, Germantown Police and U.S. Secret Service agents tracked down Delvecchio Norment, 30, on Wednesday night. Police believe Norment was behind a scam where a waitress at a Germantown restaurant skimmed credit card numbers from unsuspecting customers.

Saturday, the owner of Mister B's, Theresa Baker, said she would never have suspected her employee, Jessica Holden, was part of the scheme.

Holden is accused of using a concealed card reader, to steal customers' credit card numbers. Holden admitted to police she swiped up to 150 cards illegally.

Investigators said Holden told them she met a man named "Chico" at a party who promised her gift cards and cash in return for the stolen numbers.

According to Baker, Holden was a valued employee for eight years, and she believes Holden got sucked into the scam.

"I believe young people fall prey to these predators," she said. "I believe that's what happened to Jessica, and I would like to say just don't believe the things you are promised! It was not worth what she's having to go through, her family or the restaurant, for promises of glory and whatever they promised her."

Baker said since the credit card scam, her business has been hurting, falling to just half what it was at this time last year.

Holden was fired from Mister B's shortly after her arrest in September.

While authorities tracked down Dorment during their investigation at Mister B's, he was arrested on warrants from an unrelated case. That indictment accuses him of possessing dozens of counterfeit credit cards and equipment used to make them.